Bode George, a member of the board of trustees of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned Sule Lamido, former governor of
Jigawa, not to take the party to court over the sale of nomination forms for
national chairmanship contest.
Speaking on ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Television
programme, on Tuesday, George said Lamido must first explore the party’s
internal dispute resolution processes before seeking redress in court.
The PDP chieftain also said Lamido has every right to
contest for the party’s national chairmanship position.
“The fact that those leaders converged and supported one
individual as a consensus candidate doesn’t mean others can’t contest,” George
said.
“You want to make the process seamless. It’s an internal
dynamic. We have done this before, but the party has never stopped anyone from
contesting.
“My friend Sule Lamido has the right to compete. He can go
and get the form, fill it, and follow the normal process to appear on the day
of the convention. We will vote.
“But before you take the party to court, you must exhaust
the internal dynamics of the party. If you fail to do that, you can be
punished.
“So, he (Lamido) is exercising his rights, but if he goes to
court for this, he can be punished.”
“Let him go; nobody will deny him any form, and he can
compete. The final decision will be by delegates attending the convention, and
it will be done openly.”
George emphasised that the PDP constitution provides for
internal conflict resolution procedures that all members must respect to
maintain discipline within the party.
His comments followed Lamido’s claim that top PDP officials
are obstructing his attempt to purchase nomination forms for the chairmanship
race.
On Monday, Lamido visited the PDP national secretariat in
Abuja with his supporters but claimed that key offices were “locked” and
officials unavailable to attend to him.
The former governor also vowed to take legal action against
the PDP if he is prevented from obtaining the nomination form to contest the
party’s national chairmanship position.
There has been disquiet within the opposition party
following the recent zoning arrangement, which allocated the national
chairmanship position to the north-west.
A section of northern leaders has endorsed Tanimu Turaki, a
former minister of special duties, as a consensus candidate—a move some PDP
north-west stakeholders kicked against.
The PDP’s elective national convention is scheduled to be
held from November 15 to 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
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